USS Roark (FF 1053)

- decommissioned -- formerly DE 1053 -

USS ROARK was the second KNOX - class frigate and the first ship in the Navy to bear the name. Decommissioned on December 14, 1991, and stricken from the Navy list on January 11, 1995, the ROARK spent the following years berthed at the NAVSEA Inactive Ships On-site Maintenance Office in Bremerton, Wash. In 2004, the ROARK was towed to Brownsville, Tx., where she was subsequently scrapped by International Shipbreaking Corp. Scrapping was completed on October 13, 2004.

USS ROARK is badly damaged by an engine room fire which stops the ship dead in the water. The ship is taken in tow by the USS TOWERS (DDG 9) toward Midway Island from where the ROARK was towed to Pearl Harbor, HI., by the USS QUAPAW (ATF 110).

William Marshall Roark was born on 23 October 1943 at Sioux City, Iowa. Appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956, he graduated and was commissioned ensign on 8 June 1960 and advanced to the rank of lieutenant, 1 June 1964. He attended the naval flight school at Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Tex., and subsequently reported for duty in Attack Squadron 153 on board USS CORAL SEA (CV 43). Lieutenant Roark was killed in action 7 April 1965 while on a bombing mission over North Vietnam.

The photo below shows the ROARK passing San Padre Island, Tx., on her way to International Shipbreaking, Brownsville, Tx., on June 11, 2004. Photo by International Shipbreaking Corp.

The photos below were taken and contributed by Michael Martin. They show the ROARK being scrapped at Brownsville, Tx., in 2004. The first photo was taken on February 19, 2004, and the second one on February 27, 2004.